Ladybird, Ladybird
by Chixicluub
Summary: Zim is foced to care for a mutated creature containing the Tallest's DNA. When an innocent creature's life is at risk, would Zim be so desperate to ask Dib for help? And would Dib accept...?
1. Discoveries

Chapter 1: Discoveries

A/N: I only download Invader Zim, so I only have a few episodes. I hope to own the DVDs soon, but until then I apologize for any inconsistencies with my story. I don't know any better. But for now, Enjoy. You will learn the source of the title later!

Red sighed. The light in the laboratory was dim, practically nonexistant. The only light was the greenish yellow light eminating from the experiment tank in front of him. A tall, gaunt creature was suspended in the thick liquid in the tank. Its figure was female, with rings about her torso. The rings came from the DNA Red had contributed to the experiment, as did the clawed hands. Red looked at her long and hard. This… _thing_ was essentially his daughter.

There was a dilemma in the Irken race. You see, normally, an Irken suitable for the title of Tallest is born in each generation. But now, due to recent war-related casualties, the gene had been eliminated. Tallest were being synthesized with existing genes, seeing as the same mutations that created a Tallest also caused impotence. These were simply things that the Irken saw as given.

Since this was a new science, it was still imprefect. This creature was the only fetus that had matured into anything, and it was still unfit for royalty. It was tall, indeed taller than the current tallest. It had clawed hands and antennae, like a normal Irken, and the torso rings of a tallest. But this was where the similarities ended.

Its skin had an ugly pale peach colour to it, and it had long raven hair flowing from the top of its head. Its eyes did not have the wide, shining quality of a normal Irken's. It had a nose and two long pointed ears which hid behind its hair. But most noticable of all were the wings - They were not fully unfurled yet, but they were more than they had been. The wings were slightly taller than the creature, and that of a butterfly.

Red was at a loss for how this could have happened - his best guess was probably that the samples had been tainted in transportation, or perhaps his scientists had made a mistake in the growth process. Whatever had happened, this experiment had failed.

Red had a dilemma on his hands. What to do with this thing? With his… daughter? It could not live among the Irken race, and it could not take the throne. Keeping it in a tank and using at as guinea pig for experiments would be cruel. It had to be disposed of. _If we kill it, _he thought, _I would feel like a murderer._

_Maybe, just maybe, _ he pondered, _it could find itself a home… somewhere where she won't be the oddest creature around…_

Zim grumbled. He was on yet another away "mission", sent by the Tallest. He was beginning to suspect that he was simply a toy to them, but he never said it. The Tallest were creatures to be respected, and never questioned.

__

The monitor beeped as a signal of an incoming transmission. Zim, who had been in the corner quietly working on yet another useless device, turned quickly on his mechanical spider legs. He scuttled toward the monitor and accepted the transmission. "Yes, My Tallest?"he said expectantly.

"Zim," came a sombre reply. "I have a very special mission for you, which must be carried out immeadiately."It was only Red speaking, Purple was not with him. This startled Zim, as he naturally assumed that neither operated without the other. Red continued. "I need you to visit a planet nearby. I will send you the co-ordinates when I end this transmission. You must pick up a package. This package is very_ delicate and _must_ be handled with the utmost care." The transmission ended abruptly before Zim had a chance to reply with a "yes, sir" or "right away, sir"._

"_Gir!" called Zim. "Load the cargo bay with supplies. We are going on a trip…"_

"_Oh boy!" cried Gir. "ROAD TRIP!"_

Gir munched quietly on a waffle in the background as Zim watched the radar, which showed where he was, and where his destination was. The radar indicated that the planet would be reached within an hour. Zim began to wonder what his Tallest would send him on such urgent notice, and what they would be so direct and clear about it. Usually, they were vague and relaxed with him, as if they simply wanted him to go away. But this time seemed different. Not only was Red speaking to Zim on his own, but he had had a touch of emotion in his eyes. Sadness, perhaps.

Zim had lost rack of time, and was awoken from his trance-like state by the urgent beeping of his control panel as his ship entered the orbit of the planet. He landed it expertly and stood atop the stairs which extended from the ship with a hiss.

What lay ahead of Zim was very anticlimactic.

Barren desert land, scorched by 3 suns which all lay at high noon at that time. Zim stepped off his ship, and decided that his spider legs would work best as the dry sand and rock would most likely cause damage to his boots, of which he only had one pair. He cast his eyes about the enpty landscape. Nothing important, He turned to leave, feeling dejected and confused._I must have programmed the wrong co-ordinates into my computer,_ thought Zim.

The cool interior of the ship was a releif to Zim. He slid down in his chair and let the autopilot take control as he ventured to the back of the ship to check on Gir and make sure he wasn't causing too much damage. Amongst the boxes in the back, Gir was sitting, having made himself a fort out of them.

"Gir," said Zim tiredly. "Clean up these boxes. Your foolishness may cost us our supplies,if you happen to damage something, who knows what could-" Zim was cut off by a deep, throaty and unhealthy sounding cough. He froze. What was aboard his ship? "Gir," he said quietly, "Stay with me." Gir's eyes turned blood red and he saluted Zim silently. Zim charged his laser and crept around the boxes, the cargo bay was dark and forboding. He wheeled around at a sign of movement behind him, and cleared boxes away to let light into a small enclosed area. As the light filtered through, His eyes focused on what was lying there.

A tall gaunt female figure which resembled a cross between the Tallest and a human, and something which he hadn't learned the name for quite yet that lived in earth's skies in the warmer months.

It coughed again.

A/N: Yeah, I know, not the greatest. But you must know that this chapter was written in two sittings, in two days. Both rather late at night, might I add. I have the 2nd chapter written as I post this, but I'm holding off until 5 reviews. And then I'll post the 3rd chapter next weekend, provided I have 5 more. Capeesh?

-xoxo Chix


	2. Names

Chapter 2: Names

A/N: Well, seeing as you people update too often, I'll just have to post this without having any reviews. Remember, if this chapter is crappy, it's YOU GUYS' fault for the lack of constructive criticism!

Zim stood perfectly still. ""Computer," he said carefully, "Run scan on life forms in cargo bay."

"3 life forms currently present in cargo bay," it said in its mechanical tone."1 mechanical, 2 organic."

"Identify life forms," said Zim, relaxing slightly as the creature made no movement

"Life form 1: Mechanical. GIR class A. Slightly defective." The computer paused. "Life form 2:Organic. Irken invader. Master Zim." The computer paused once more, this time longer. Zim heard whirring sounds, which indicated that the computer was searching its database. "Life form 3: Organic. In need of medical attention. Life form is assumed to be non-threatening. No further information available at this time."

"If that is the case," said Zim, partially to himself and partially to the creature aboard his ship, "Then you are coming home with us…"

Red stood silently, looking out his ship's window. There was only one way to dispose of the creature while keeping her alive. If Zim's computers were reliable, and Red knew they were, then she would be deemed as non-threatening once aboard the ship. Getting her aboard the ship, however, was another matter. 

The planet Red had selected was basically a scorched ball of dirt. She wouldn't survive long on he planet by herself so it had to be made sure that the time between her transport to the planet and Zim's arrival was minimal. A servant Irken would be sent to the planet's surface with her to assure her safe transport.

But she had to get into Zim's ship without alerting Zim of her presence. Red knew Zim, he knew him well. Seeing a strange dying creature attempting to board his ship would cause him to deem it as threatening and kill it. This was the last thing Red wanted. With Zim, she would receive medical attention and, if all went well, live peacefully and not know of her origin.

If all went well…

Upon arriving back at earth, Zim Jumped from his ship. "Computer," he shouted, "provide the required medical attention to the injured creature upon the ship!" Why he felt such compassion for the creature, he did not know. All he knew was that it needed to survive.

A large mechanical arm reached from a dark corner of the house and carefully hoisted the creature into the air. It disappeared into the medical ward of Zim's base. "Gir," he said, "come with me to the medical bay. I wish to study this…" Zim paused, looking for the words. "…Thing."

After the creature had been stabilized, it lay in a while-sheeted bed, similar to those used in earth hospitals. Zim examined it more carefully. It was pale, and had a similar complexion to the Dib child. It had not yet regained consciousness, but the machines attached to it noted that she would soon. Her breathing had stabilized now that she had been rehydrated. His computers had picked up the fact that this creature, unlike Zim, required water to live. Being on such a dry planet had damaged its lungs slightly, but the only real problem was that it was dehydrated.

Zim stroked its antennae. They were exactly like his own, except they seemed to be slightly longer. Its clawed hands were similar to his as well, except for an extra digit. Zim had also noticed that the creature's torso was elongated and had rings around it, similar to those of the Tallest. The creature seemed, overall, to have a portion of Irken DNA.

Gir stood, strangely quietly, at the bedside of the creature. He seemed to be simply watching it, observing it.

Zim directed his attention to its wings. They were, to use a human word Zim had heard exchanged by many human mates, beautiful. "Computer," he said, and was slightly saddened at the loss of silence, "Run an earth search on keyword 'wings'," The computer beeped quietly and whirred mechanically.

"Wings," said the computer, "organic devices developed by many earth creatures to acquire the ability to fly. Earth creatures with wings include birds, and some insects."

"Display examples of winged insects on monitor," said Zim. A nearby monitor flashed pictures of crickets, locusts, beetles and finally, butterflies. "Butterfly," said Zim, recognizing the similarities in the wings.

A soft noise came from behind him.

Zim whirled around to face the creature once more. It was moving slightly, twitching at first but soon moving in slow but coordinated movements. Its eyelids clenched tightly, then opened slowly. Zim watched carefully, looking into its eyes. They were the same ruby colour as his, only not as large. They had the shape of human eyes. It blinked once, twice, and then opened its eyes fully. It sat up and examined its surroundings.

"Welcome," said Zim cautiously. The creature looked at him suddenly, as if it had not been aware of him. "I am Zim. Do you have a name?" The creature simply looked at him. Perhaps it cannot understand me, thought Zim. He pulled a small metal translation bracelet from his pocket and clipped it on the creature's wrist. It simply watched him interestedly, not making any movements to stop him. "Can you understand me now?' sad Zim. The creature simply cocked its head and continued to look at him. "I guess not," said Zim sadly. "Well, if you stay here, you will need a name. What do you wish to be called?" A look of understanding came over its face. It glanced around the room until its eyes landed on the monitor near it. It reached out and touched a picture. Zim leaned in to read what the monitor said underneath the picture. "_Coccinella septempunctata,_" read Zim. "The Ladybird." The creature nodded. "So that will be your name? Ladybird?" It smiled, revealing finely pointed teeth.

"Ladybird," it repeated quietly.

"Welcome to Earth," said Zim."Ladybird."

She fluttered her wings in approval.

A/N: I'm gonna have a tough time writing my way out of this one. Oh well. I will make it work! Haha.

- xoxo Chix


	3. The Learning Process

Chapter 3: The Learning Process

A/N: Hey. All you lazies haven't R&Red. Do it or I will eat you.   
Enjoy!

Ladybird's brain had been designed to pick up skills and facts quickly. Had the experiment been successful, she would have turned out as a full-grown Irken, too developed to be taught by a machine. So she would have had to learn the ways of life from other Irkens. Since she needed to learn and all she had as an example were Zim (who, when not atending "skool", was down in his labratory) and Gir, who was not much of an example at all, the first storng emotion she ever felt was boredom.

She watched T.V. with Gir a lot, he seemed to be absorbed in it while he watched. Ladybird, however, watched the more intelligent programs (i.e. the ones which actually spoke) with avid interest, trying to learn the language. And learn she did, though pretty much anyone can learn any language after eight straight hours of it being pumped into their brain a day.

Ladybird lay upside down on the couch, her long legs curled over the back and placed on the wall, and her head resting on the floor. Her hair lay around her head in soft locks, and the intermingled with her antennae. She twitched her antennae and watched them, an unamused look on her face. She rubbed her eyes. Not only was she bored, but sleepy. She yawned and stretched before righting herself on the couch and turning to lie on her side.

What was currently playing on the screen was a movie in black and white, with a girl in a checkered dress and her little dog. She seemed to be walking around a farm and singing a pretty song, and playing with baby chickens. Music was one thing that Ladybird had learned to enjoy; be it punk or classical, showtunes or rap. She liked the way the complex note formations made her brain work harder than the regular television programs did. Whenever she had the chance, she would change the T.V. channel to MTV, and watch whatever was on.Out of all the music, she probably liked punk rock the best. The people dressed interestingly, and the songs tended to be exhilarating, which was a releif from the normally boring days she had.

Since it had been a week since her arrival at earth, she was still too weak to do anything which required physical work (she, like the Tallest, floated. However, this floating is caused by energy discharge, and she simply did not have any extra energy to discharge.) Seven days straight spent lying on a couch, trying to learn a planet's dominant language from television. Needless to say, she was so bored she thpught her brain might pop out of her skull (hey, you would make odd analogies too if you learned all you english from T.V.)

She tugged at her clothes. Somehow, Zim had managed to aquire 2 tank tops (one white, one black) and a skirt which would be long on a human but on Ladybird covered only the top half of her long black legs. Right now, she was wearing the black one, which went with the rings around her torso and her hair. The door slammed as Zim arrived home from skool.

"Hey," said Ladybird, a flat tone in her voice.

"Hello Ladybird," he said. "since I am SUPERIOR I believe I may have discovered a solution to your immobility and lack of energy. Come with me to my lab."

"Um.." started Ladybird, looking down at her useless legs.

"Oh." Said Zim. "Gir!" he called.

"Yes, my master!' Gir snapped to attention, immeadiately in duty mode.

"Gir, help Ladybird down to the laboratory however you can."

Ladybird, who had developed quite an intelligence level alongside an understanding of how Gir took orders like this, braced herself. As soon as Zim took one of the elevators down to the lab, Gir's eyes returned to normal.

"I love youuuu!" chirped Gir as he scooped up Ladybird and flew, aided by his rocket thrusters. Stuffing her roughly into the garbage can, he sat on her head as they were both carried down to the lab on the elevator.

Ladybird sat on the floor of the lab where she had fallen out of the elevator. Zim stood working on something over in the corner. Ladybird flexed her wings in order to right herself. She placed her hands underneath her in order to sit up. Zim pressed a button, and a large cold metal table rose underneath her.

"I, being the genious that I am," began Zim, "have created you a PAK!"

Since she was only partially Irken, Ladybird did not require a PAK to function, but was essentially crippled without the extra energy it provided. Since she had been abandoned almost immeadiately after being disconnected from the machines on Irk, She had not been installed with her own. Zim, carrying the PAK (which looked similar to his own, save the black spots replacing the mauve ones), rolled Ladybird onto her stomach. He placed the PAK delicately between her wings. At first, it did nothing but sit on her spine. Then, it began to whirr and twitch like an irritated insect. Small wires pushed themselves into Ladybird's back and she yelled in pain. She arched as the PAK connected itself to her, then curled into a ball. Her muscle movements were spastic and uncontrolled. Then, she lifted from the table and hovered several feet above it. Her blood red eyes glowed with a malicious light and she flexed her claws hungrily. She grinned, revealing sharp teeth that, admittedly, seemed sharper than before. She arched violently once more, before lowwering to the ground. She blinked once, twice, and the light in her eyes disappeared. She floated, as promised, about two inches off the floor. She looked down and smiled happily.

"That hurt,' she said, stating the obvious, "but at least I can walk now."

"Float," Zim corrected her.

"Yeah. Whatever."

Zim paused. "Ladybird…" He mused, rather seriously. "If you couldn't walk before…how did you get aboard my ship…?"

And now, this is where Ria comes in.

A/N: Bleh, I don't think this story will be as great as I wanted. Oh well, it's the story I've stuck with the longest. Maybe I'll finish it. I don't know how to, though. ..

Ah well, I'm getting the box set soon so that'll put an end to any inconsistencies in the real story compared to mine. Also, I may be looking for BETA reader in the near future. If you're interested, e-mail me and we'll talk.

TTFN

- xoxo Chix


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